One of the most important decisions a person has to make when creating a will is choosing who will be the executor of the estate. Often times, the executor chosen is a friend or family member who might not be in the best position to fully appreciate the duties that will be imposed. For example, failure to properly supervise distributions from the estate could leave it short to pay off creditors which would leave the executor on the hook for the money. In addition, pressure from heirs to start taking items from the estate could lead to problems when people get upset that they are not getting what they view as “theirs” quick enough. As a result of these and other potential problems, it is always a good idea to chose someone that is level headed when managing their own affairs and will not easily be bullied into taking actions that are problematic. If the preferred candidate does not fit that bill, then it is better to find a new person rather than risk fallout that a poorly chosen executor could create.
See Victor Ngai, Helping Your Clients Avoid Common Executor Mistakes, Financial Advisor, November 19, 2015.
Special thanks to Joel Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.
